Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi picked former UN chief Kofi Annan on Wednesday to lead a commission to stop human rights abuses in Rakhine State, where violence between Buddhists and minority Rohingya Musl
Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi picked former UN chief Kofi Annan on Wednesday to lead a commission to stop human rights abuses in Rakhine State, where violence between Buddhists and minority Rohingya Muslims has cast a pall over democratic reforms.
More than 100 people were killed in violence in the north-western state in 2012, and some 125,000 Rohingya Muslims, who are stateless, took refuge in camps where their movements are severely restricted.
Thousands have fled persecution and poverty in an exodus by boat to neighbouring South and Southeast Asian countries.
“The Myanmar government wants to find a sustainable solution on the complicated issues in Rakhine State, that's why it has formed an advisory commission,” the government said in a statement released by Ms Suu Kyi’s office.
Ms Suu Kyi is barred from the presidency by a Junta-drafted Constitution, but runs Myanmar as state counselor and foreign minister.
The plight of Myanmar’s Muslims has raised questions about the democracy champion's commitment to human rights and represents a politically sensitive issue for her after the end of decades of repressive military rule exposed communal tensions.
